I just returned from a 21 day hunt with my stepson, the first 14 of which were at Lokisali. We took a 45" Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, Eland, Fringed eared Orxy, Grant's Gazelle, Coke's Hartebeste, White Bearded Wildebeste, Impala, Warthog, Dik Dik, and Zebra in Lokisale before moving to Kikosi.

Hunting on this concession is water dependent, as JJ Miller found out. It has water the first week or two in July and again in December. The animals come out of the park for the grass, but return to the park when the water runs out. Most of the waterholes were drying out when we left and the buffalo were gone after the first week except for the odd old buffs frequenting a couple of the more permanent watering sites.

After going to Kikosi, we took Topi, Lich. Hartebeste, Defassa Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Roan and Sable. We were incredibly lucky; however, our success was directly dependent upon the hard work of our ph, AJ van Heerden, about whom I cannot say enough good things. At Lokisale, we saw Lesser Kudu and Greater Kudu, but not trophy animals.

We did have trouble at Lokisale with facilities which were apparently remedied by the time JJ arrived relating to the hot water system which limited us to four hot showers in 14 days, running out of water totally on more than one occassion, and bathing the rest of the time out of buckets. We also got tired of a buffalo as an entre, but, of course, that was not a problem for JJ! If we had not been incredibly successful and the staff had not worked so hard to make us happy, I'd have been very upset given the going daily rates for such a hunt.

There are Buffalo, Lion, Leopard and a variety of plains game at Kikosi, as well as Lokisale during the times indicated; however, the hunting conditions at Kikosi are much more difficult than Lokisale because of the exceptionally tall grass which the ph's were busy burning off.

I'll publish a hunt report later and pictures when I figure out how to do it. I always have problem finding a "host" for the darn things-if you have any suggestions, let me hear them. Kudude

Welcome backand congratulations!

I look forward to the pictures. Most seem to have good luck with Photobucket for picture hosting.

kudude

Wow what a wonderful hunting safari ... those Fringe Eared Oryx's are a damn nice specie

Fantistic trip it seems

Peter

Kudude:

Do you mean kigosi?

I will be there in Sept. See any good sable and buffalo there?

Sounds like a truly awesome hunt, Steve! I can't wait to hear more about it. In fact, I'll be in Tallahassee tomorrow afternoon to pick up my trophies from my Zim hunt 2 years ago. My schedule will be tight but it would great to see you then.

Congrats on a great hunt Kudude. Masailand is beautiful safari country! And the Lolkisale camp is extremely elegant with it's East African kind of style. Do they still post the evenings menu on the table with a little cardboard foldup with a whistlethorn to hold it there? I had to bring one of those menus back as a memento. Also being met at the 'cruiser with a tray of cold beverages was a nice touch. Sounds like you took excellent trophies and look forward to your pics as well.

Sounds like you had a great hunt! How many days where you in ech area?

This is the same PH that is being sought by half of Africa for all sorts of mis-deamenors Either you had a lucky streak with him or half of Africa was barking up the wrong tree!!!

Also, after JJ's far from positive report on lokisale area and camp, one wonders what's going on over there??? Who is running the show there....

Looking forward to your pictures and additional comments.

Was this booked through safari Trackers and Adam Clements? I'm going to TZ with him next year. Should I be concerned? beteween this and JJ's story, sounds like things might be getting a bit out of control.

Gentleman,

I want to make it clear that my hunt wasn't a Bundu Safari problem. I wasn't allowed to cover the entire concession at Lokisale for what ever reason. I was the first hunter to not see or take a buff there in 17 years. This was a PH problem. Plan B should have been go to Lobo concession, my PH called Adam Clements who was hunting there and Adam told my PH not to come as Adam had seen 3 buff tracks in 18 days at that time. But not long after that call the client comes out with a full bag.

AS an aside my PH told me I would be lucky to shoot one buff let alone two. Two days after I left the PH's brother in law came in behind me and shot two in one day. The whole thing is kinda amazing............................JJ

quote:

AS an aside my PH told me I would be lucky to shoot one buff let alone two. Two days after I left the PH's brother in law came in behind me and shot two in one day.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwanamich:

This is the same PH that is being sought by half of Africa for all sorts of mis-deamenors Either you had a lucky streak with him or half of Africa was barking up the wrong tree!!!

As a conspiracy theorist I find in very interesting that the infamous van Heerden was in or around the area where JJ had such a bad experience. Coincidence ?? Also, I am not sure that water dependency was the problem for JJ!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by JJ_Miller:
I was the first hunter to not see or take a buff there in 17 years.

Actually you were the first hunter not to take a Buffalo in that concession in July. There have been unsuccessful hunts in August, September etc. but July is always good.

Oh OK Wendell my mistake.

Bwanahile, I was told it wasn't a van Heerden problem, by the way I thinks its the younger brother Barry thats the problem not AJ. As a matter of fact I think I'll be hunting with AJ in Nov/Dec of this year back in Lokisale for buff. After talking to others who have hunted with AJ I'm willing to give him a chance. Plus he is highly recommended by Wendell, which after bailing my ass out last time I trust Wendell %100.

As far as water goes there seemed to be a fair amount on the end of the concession where we drove around........................JJ

JJ
Sounds like your PH didn't want to find a buffalo. Maybe a bad experience for him? A little fear on his part?

465H&H

Thanks for correcting the statement "first hunter in 17...", Wendell. Wasn't my experience in November of 2003. Folks, you MUST be aware when hunting Lolkisale that the buffalo there are VERY water dependent. It is fantastic buff country when there is H2O available. Witness ForrestB's buff killed in '03 that measured 45". I walked into that camp two dry weeks later than Forrest and never cut a fresh buff track, much less saw a bull. That is how quickly this area can change when the water evaporates! The short rains in October can make or break a late hunt! Not to see buff in July is puzzling unless conditions are already very dry there this year.

Once again, this is a fantastic area for HUGE buffalo, but weather dictates availablity. The buff won't leave the Tarangire Park if they have to trudge to and fro for water, regardless of the forage. Zebra, hartebeest, lesser kudu, impala, Grant's are another story...but buff are not. It's a chance we all take when booking this kind of TROPHY hunt and we must be aware of it!

Bwana,

The dates you hunted in Lolkisali were a gamble. You hunted late and gambled that the rains would have come. They didn't and you saw what a lonely place Lolkisali can be when there is no water.

You also saw that at the peak of the dry season, you could always find Buffalo in Lobo.

There were Buffalo in Lolkisali when JJ was there. There was water there as well.

Citori,

Neither JJ or kudude's safaris were booked through Adam Clements. This is Adam's first year as manager of Bundu. The previous manager Licky Abdallah has Kigosi and that is where AJ Van Herdeen came in. He does not work for Bundu but Adam is honoring previous bookings that Licky made.

Adam will be in the office next week and I'm sure he will have some comments from being on the ground there. I'm confident that whatever problems may have occurred that Adam will square them away.

Regards,

Mark

quote:

Actually you were the first hunter not to take a Buffalo in that concession in July. There have been unsuccessful hunts in August, September etc. but July is always good.

Wendell,
I agree that my hunt was dependent on the late rains but in your quote above it would seem other months are a "gamble" as well. The Tanzanian hunting season starts July 1. So if there are unsuccesful hunters in August, I draw a conclusion that if one doesn't hunt in the first 30 days of season, plus or minus, things COULD get tough if it is a dry year. Don't want to get into a rock throwing contest but I will stick by my guns that hunters need to be aware that Lolkisale is a great area for buff if the water is there. If not, it's tough.

Bwana,

Absolutely correct. The Buffalo in this concession are water dependant, without a doubt. July is good and up to about August 10 can be good Aug 10-20 can be good, ok, or bad depending on the year. I can see no reason to hunt in September here, unless you want Lion or plainsgame.

Unless you book July or December, you are gambling a bit.

Keep in mind this is specifically talking about Lolkisali. Lobo is different.

I have nothing to gain or loose, like I said in a different post, since Adam was made the head booking agent for Bundu, I do not work with them anymore. I will finish the clients I had booked and bid them farewell.

JJ,
Were they still working on the bore hole when you were there, or had they finished? Did they find water? If so, what was the flow? This is the key to season long hunting of this camp.

What was your source of hot water? What tent did you stay in?

We saw evidence of buff around several water holes even at the end of our hunt; however, AJ advised us that there were portions of the concession, which is hugh, that were pointless to hunt because of the absence of water. The tactic is to shortstop them coming out of or back into the park.

bwanamrm,
The rustic camp you loved is no more, for shame! It was described to me by AJ, who hunted there numerous times including last year. It has been replaced by a facility that has three very nice tents for clients; grounds, a gardener, bird baths, and flower beds; sanded paths bordered by ropes held up by painted, 36" high fence poles, most of which were topped by a 15watt florescent bulb in a clear fixture; ablution blocks that were painted white with a paint that won't adhere to the concrete wall and bubbles when it gets wet; and has about two times the staff it needs. It looks at night like a putt-putt golf course.

Bwanamich,
I never could figure out who was really in charge. Adam's group owns the controlling interest in Bundu, but my hunt was arranged with Charlie Goldenberg and contracted with Licky as the representative of Bundu in 2003. My hunt was a corporate obligation assumed by Adam's group upon purchase. Although Adam came over and attempted to address our concerns, in all honesty, there was little that could be done about the hot water problem which was a basic engineering issue, and the variety of our food improved for the last days of our stay.

Bwanahile and Bwanamich,
You should be careful about speaking ill about people who you do not know. I have never heard anything but good about AJ and believe me when I say that this trip was successful solely because of his efforts. Our hunt should not have adversely impacted a following client's. After all, the goal is a successful hunt. AJ also did all that could be expected to resolve the hot water and food problems.

Citori,
One of my lessons learned is never go away without a satillite phone again. If I could have, I would have called Charlie or Licky and raised hell, but unfortunately, I had not means of calling and AJ left his recharger in Dar and it was down at the critical period. I would suggest you call if your expectations are not met forthwith.

Wendell,
I was extremely fortunate to have booked the dates that I did being ignorant of the situation. The fact is that after July, in the absence of some water source, a successful buff hunt at Lokisale is a crapshoot until December. There are some resident old bulls hanging around a few good water sources, but once those are shot, there are none. As mentioned in an earlier thread about Bundu's improvements to this concession, there is apparently an intent to improve the water situation with permanent bore holes in the area.

There is no need to worry about Masai incursions. The tse-tse flies are absolutely horrible! I am from Florida where the state bird is the mosquito, and we have yellow and black flies. I have never in my life seen the like of these things. Be warned! Avon SSS, gaiters (or pants inches too long), and boonie hats (they bite through the vent holes in baseball caps), heavy pants. My son was never bit through jeans, but they got is poor old balding head through his Bundu baseball cap repeatedly. Nice cap though!

I have taken my photos off my digital camera, and am working on editing them. Hope to post later this weekend.

My son and I got a touch of food poisoning on the way home (NOT from any huntng camp) and have been feeling can of poorly. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by kudude:
I have never heard anything but good about AJ and believe me when I say that this trip was successful solely because of his efforts.

He is a talented hunter. His brothers name has left him hurting though. While not a saint, AJ produces results.

Case in point. 15 minutes ago, the phone rang. It was Licky calling to tell me my hunter in Kigosi just shot a huge Elephant. AJ is his ph.

It might interest people here to know that I continue to get requests to hunt with AJ.

Kudude,

Sounds like you had a great hunt!

Lets see those pics!

Regards,
Dave

Mark,

I'm going to call Adam early next week. By the way, THANK YOU for the time you spent with me on the phone the other day. I'm not drawing any conclusions yet, just trying to get the facts. The improvements to the camp mentioned, while they may noe appeal to the hard core hunter, might be just the thing for the wife and kids.

One question, are the bugs really that bad in Lolkisale? I thought it was relatively bug free.

Citori,
Believe me, Lokisale is not bug free! There were times when we had to "Doom" the truck, just so more Tse's could get on board. The secret is Avon's, long sleeves, and too long pants so that when you sit down they can't crawl up you legs to your ankles. Even then, they are going to be pesky. Kigosi really teems with the darned things. Even worse than Lokisale.

Strangely, they do not interfere with sitting in the blind like you would think they would. They are attracted to the truck by its movement, and just swarm on board. Even when you are on stalk, they are relatively benign; although, most of our stalks were in burned over areas where the fire has taken out the Tse's. Make you plans and don't be detered by the bugs. Kudude

quote:

While not a saint, AJ produces results.

kudude,
there is more to this statement if you read in between the lines

Citori,

I have not hunted Lokisale yet so I cannot speak first hand about the tetses there. I hunted Natron which is in Masailand but quite a bit West and there were no tetses. Also I spent some time in Tarangire and perhaps saw a couple of tetses. It seems odd to me that tetses would be so savage in Lokisale that borders Tarangire but I was not there.

Johnson's wax makes a product called OFF! SKINTASTIC insect repellent with sunscreen that we used and it really worked very well if applied liberally. Also it eliminated the need for carrying and applying 2 different products. We used it in Muhesi/Kisigo where the tetses are a real nuisance.

Check out the bug report with Adam next week.

Regards,

Mark

Folks,

I'm sure the issues that kudude and JJ Miller brought up will be resolved. One thing that cannot be denied though is that the hunting in both Lokisale and Lobo have been very good. Two big lions have been killed in Lokisale plus leopard, 45" buff and a variety of EA species. Even by JJ's admission he stayed only 5 days and 2 buffalo were killed in Lokisale immediately after he went home. In Lobo Adam's client turned down 4 very good shooter lions while looking for something special, an archer early in the month stalked up on three 45" class buffalo and just this week 2 big buffalo were shot in Lobo.

These two areas are excellent, any problems we have are fixable and I anticipate arranging some truly fabulous safaris in the future resulting in many happy clients.

Regards,

Mark

Bwanamich,
When dealing with another's good name I make a point never to read between the lines. Kudude

Mark,

I just got home and read your post.

Do not even attempt to infer that had I stayed I would have seen buff. It was clear to me and others I was being steered around the buff and being lied to.

When I enquired about going to Lobo to hunt I was lied to about the buff there also.

Thats why I came home early..............JJ

JJ,
Please advise what you were told about buffalo at Kigosi. We were there, and I will be glad to share our limited experience.

Was the bore hole finished? Do ou know what the flow was?

What tent did you stay in?

I am truly sorry that you had a bad experience.

Please feel free to send me personal message.

Kudude

JJ

Pleaase call Adam at the office tomorrow at 210-698-0077. He should be able to tell you what his discussions have been with Paul and Charles since you left. Perhaps you will feel better after that.

Regards,

Mark

This thread is very confusing.

These "gambling" hunts. Are the clients told this when booking?

I was assured the day I arrived in camp that quote " herds " of buff were in Lokisale where I was hunting. I think they were there but I wasn't shown them..................JJ

Nitro X,

This hunt becomes a gamble in mid August, and yes, the clients are told the exact situation when they book a hunt in an area like this with me. I do not know what other agents tell their clients, but mine are prepared. If no good dates are available, it is a simple decision, do not book a hunt during bad dates in this area. It is as simple as that.

JJ's dates were originally a little later, they lapped into August. I told him on many occasions. "It might be a little dry, and you may have to work harder to get the Buffalo."

Steve, I am glad that you enjoyed your time in Lolkisale, and was a pleasure meeting you there personally. I do want to mention a few issues that you brought up though, that I think are a little different than what you told me face to face.

The first issue is about the food that you complained about. As you recall, I got news of your complaint when you were in camp and I made a special trip up to Lolkisale with my client just to see for myself and to talk with you about it. I knew then though that your complaint about the food could not be correct as the cook has specific instructions as well as menus to follow. So, when I arrived in camp, the first thing I did was go to the kitchen and look at the daily log book that the cook keeps so I could see what he had been cooking you so bad for the last 10-days. I looked at the menu that he had used for the last 10-days and did not see any reason at all for any complaints. You had been given a variety of food each meal, such as, fish, chicken, game meat, vegitables, salads, fruit etc etc. You had complained about eating nothing but buffalo meat the entire time, which is not correct. Out of the 10-days you were there you had game meat a total of 4 times! You had gone through 8 chickens and several fish.

I asked you to your face about the food and what the complaint was, and you told me that the food was fantastic and you had never seen a chef so good. You then told me that the only complaint that you had was that they served too much food and you would rather have sandwiches instead! I then told you that I could not tell them to give you sandwiches every meal as you would then complain about that. Is this not correct?

You had a long conversation with my client while we were there as well, and you never stopped telling him what a great time, what a great camp, and how great everything was. Is this not correct?

I had also heard that you did not like to have lights on at night, which is not a problem as they can be turned off just as easly as they are turned on. So, I told the staff to keep all the lights off for you except for your tent and the dinning area. Most people do like to see where they are walking at night when going to the tent, but if you do not that is fine.

We also talked about the water situation, and I do agree and admit that we have had a big problem with the bore holes that we have been trying to finish for the last month. The bore holes were supposed to be finished before the season, and they were not, which did cause a lot of extra trouble, that we were not expecting. That I apologize for, but we did everything we could to try and work through the problem. I think that it is a little exageration about only have 4 hot showers, but if it makes the story sound better, then fine. We hope to have the water situation done very soon, which will ensure that everything is better. Some things happen or do not happen as we plan them, and we have to try and work through best way possible. I do apologize for the water problem.

The main thing is that you shot all your animals and that according to you, you had a fantastic time and could not have been happier. As you told our gy in Arusha after you returned from Kigosi and he asked you about it, you told him that nothing could compare to the Lolkisale camp and the food there.

Do not want to stir anything up, but just wanted to clarify some things that we personally discussed face to face in camp with my client standing there as witness.

By the way, I would like to get some pictures from you if possible. Thanks for hunting with us though.

Dear Adam,

It was indeed a pleasure to see you and to meet Bill Pritchard. I am so pleased that he had a successful hunt as evidenced from the photos on the Bundu web site.

What I told you about the food is exactly what I posted to Mark Young. I am a poor one to comment; I got fat on C rations. My son and AJ felt the food was not varied enough. We did have chicken on two ocasions before you arrived on our 11th day, and fish on one occasion (I believe the second time was for the lunch we shared). We did have chicken another time before we left, and it was excellent. Pazi is an excellent cook.

We shot some very nice game animals while hunting at Lokisale and many of the better cuts were not hung for baits. With the exception of Oryx steaks prepared for us the night of the 13th, I am at a loss to know where these cuts went. (We did take some Orxy and Eland with us to the west, where we had even worse cooking problems.) We saw a lot of buffalo which was shot on day 2 of our hunt. There were a significant number of camp staff and supernumeraries in camp during our hunt, and we are bot familiar enough with Africa to know that none were protein deprived.

The most discomforting problem was that with the water, or more specifically the absence of running hot water. The facts reflected in my daily diary are that I had four hot or warm showers in 14 days and my son had three. We had several days when we had no water at all. For an old soldier who has bathed his body in his helmet, a bucket bath with hot water isn't too bad. For a first class hunting camp which has lights in abundance, nice tents and other amenities, it isn't acceptable.

Whether the failure to provide showers was lack of command emphasis or inability to adapt and overcome, the failure to jury rig a shower in 14 days is unacceptable. Whether this is a major problem, I guess depends on who is taking the bucket bath! Kudude

"I looked at the menu that he had used for the last 10-days and did not see any reason at all for any complaints."

But you went there specifically because the client complained about the food. When you arrive you "look at the menu and do not see any reason at all for any complaints".

What would you tell a restaurant manager if you complained about the food and he said, "I do not see any reason at all for any complaints."

"You had gone through 8 chickens and several fish."

"We did have chicken on two occasions before you arrived on our 11th day..."

Adam, it sounds like what your cook is writing down in his log book and what is getting served to the clients are two completely different things. Unless kudude is eating 4 chickens per meal.

"I think that it is a little exaggeration about only have 4 hot showers, but if it makes the story sound better, then fine." Interesting marketing technique, call the client a liar.

"We hope to have the water situation done very soon, which will ensure that everything is better." You still haven't fixed the water issue, what are all the clients you have had in camp doing for water and showers?

"The main thing is that you shot all your animals and that according to you, you had a fantastic time and could not have been happier." Well actually, no it sounds like he could be a lot happier, otherwise he wouldn't have filed a report with all these negative comments.

"Do not want to stir anything up, but just wanted to clarify some things that we personally discussed face to face in camp with my client standing there as witness."

So you have a witness, that witness is one of your clients, kudude was not one of your clients, doesn't sound like you think any of his complaints are valid. Typical outfitter, I've got your money - complain all you want - it won't do you any good.

Adam, is this the type of service you normally provide? You basically have called kudude a liar. Would it have made any difference if kudude was booked by you and therefore been your client? Then you could use kudude as a "witness" to contradict the complaints of some other hunter who had the misfortune of hunting on your concession.

You know, I don't have a dog in this fight, but your response to kudude absolutely shocked me.

Regards,

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by NitroX:
This thread is very confusing.

These "gambling" hunts. Are the clients told this when booking?

Wendell and JJ,

Thanks for your replies. I think after reading this thread and the other, my 'confusion' is 99% gone.

As I read it water on the ground is the key requirement for buffalo being present in this concession and water was present in reasonable amounts from various comments.

Have never hunted Africa but plan on going in the near future. To me the "main thing" would definitly be getting all the game I was after not how varied the dinner menu was. I plan on going on safari to hunt and not worry about gourmet' meals.
Not sure of the set up on water but was that a problem with the bore holes or pipes?
It seems to me that it's pick on Adam week. What kind of track record does Adam have ? It seems he's been in buisness a long time and maybe this is a isolated incident. Has Wendell ever had any complaints, do things always run perfect for his operation? Just questions because I read this thread alot and am planning to book a hunt for next year if possible.
It seems to me that to complain about the menu is trivial to the successful hunt itself.
Kudude did say the staff worked very hard.